Film

As the German director celebrates 30 years of his epic tale of walled Berlin with a newly restored version, he recalls how GDR officials shelved an East Berlin shoot since the protagonists could 'walk through walls.'

Wim Wenders is almost constantly on tour. Since his latest feature film "Submergence" premiered last fall at the Toronto Film Festival, the director has been attending near-daily retrospectives and re-releases of his films.

In Berlin, Wenders just opened a joint show with the Japanese-Swiss artist Leiko Ikemura in the former home of the painter Max Liebermann. And in a few days he presents his new documentary "Pope Francis — A Man of his Word" at the Cannes Film Festival.

And at a recent engagement in Cologne, Wenders attended a sold-out screening of his classic film, "Wings of Desire," which has been re-released for its 30th anniversary in a pristine new 4k digital print.

Wenders' angel will watch over Berlin with even greater clarity in the newly restored version

Restoration work

"Wings of Desire on the big screen in 4k...shows us a city and shows us a world that is 30 years old, but it is so succinct, so there and so rich that it could also be a new film. That was our goal," said Wenders, who is obviously satisfied with the new high resolution version of the film that seeks to reproduce the look of the original negative.

With his Wim Wenders Foundation, Wenders has been preserving his films for posterity in the most original condition achievable. "The history of film deserves that the films shown as beautifully as possible," he said.

For "Wings of Desire," Wenders, who won best director at Cannes for the film, explained how the restoration team dealt with six different generations of the print that were created to combine the black-and-white and color segments of the movie, which have lost quality over time.

Indeed, viewing the newly restored version is a real treat since the fantastic black-and-white images — lensed by legendary French cinematographer Henri Alekan in 1986 — have achieved a new brilliance.

The restoration work gives the film, shot three-quarters in black-and-white, a new luster

Divided Berlin

Questions from the public at the Cologne screening triggered Wenders to recall a few anecdotes from the making of the film, including the story of how he approached American actor Peter Falk.

At the time, Wenders was looking for a familiar face for the role of an angel who had become human again, and Falk was known worldwide as the chief detective on the TV show "Columbo."

Peter Falk as detective Columbo

By chance, Wenders had the phone number of US director John Cassavettes, who had made Falk a star in the 1960s. Cassavettes soon gave the director Falk's phone number and within minutes he had "Columbo" on the line.

Two days later, Falk was in Berlin. Wenders laughs when he recalls how fast it all happened.

The story of two angels Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) who roam walled Berlin and listen to people's thoughts while remaining invisible to them, "Wings of Desire" saw Wenders create arguably his most fascinating, and enigmatic, cinematic work.

But the appeal of the film for today's viewers is also as a historical document of a city that has changed completely since the work was created three decades before.

Bruno Ganz, who plays one of the film's angels, traverses the Berlin Wall

'They can go through the Wall?'

Shot two years before the fall of the Wall, "Wings of Desire" was not only a product of West Berlin, where it was mostly set, but was also a creature of the East.

Wenders recalls that his previous film "Paris, Texas" (1984) was screened many times in the Eastern Bloc, including in the GDR — which was unusual at the time for films from the west.

In East Berlin, "Paris, Texas" was seen as subversive and critical of America, explained Wenders with a laugh.

Indeed, Wenders was given an appointment with the then-Minister of Culture of the GDR (ed. note: Hans-Joachim Hoffmann). He was also expressly encouraged to defect to the East once he had traveled across the border to discuss "Wings of Desire."

Tracing the division of Berlin

Brandenburg Gate

From August 1961 to November 1989, the Berlin Wall divided Berlin for 28 years, two months and 27 days. The Brandenburg Gate had long been the symbol of the division of Germany. Even after the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, there was no passage here - that changed on December 22, 1989. Since then, Berliners have been able to walk unhindered through the landmark of their city again.

Tracing the division of Berlin

East Side Gallery

The East Side Gallery on the River Spree in Friedrichshain is a 1.3-kilometer-long section of the so-called Hinterland Wall, which artists from all over the world painted in 1990. It was located in front of the death strip and a second wall. The area near the Oberbaumbrücke is a tourist attraction, but several wall elements have already been removed in the course of construction projects.

Tracing the division of Berlin

Berlin Wall Memorial

Nowhere is the former "death strip" as vivid as it is here. An 80-meter-long segment of the Wall, including a guard tower, has been reconstructed. The authentic border fortification complex serves as a central monument to the division of Germany. It pays homage to the victims who died or were killed at the Berlin Wall.

Tracing the division of Berlin

Traces of the route of the Wall

The Berlin Wall has disappeared almost everywhere in the city. East and West have now grown together. In the city center a strip of cobblestones marks where the Wall used to run.

Tracing the division of Berlin

Checkpoint Charlie

This border crossing is among the best-known sights in Berlin. Only foreigners and diplomats were allowed to pass through this checkpoint. In October 1961, shortly after the Wall was built, there was a standoff here as armed Soviet and American tanks stood face-to-face. The situation very nearly escalated.

Tracing the division of Berlin

The Palace of Tears

It was a place of tearful farewells. Hundreds of people crossed this border post at Friedrichstrasse station when leaving East Germany for West Berlin. The former departure terminal now serves as a reminder of the forced separation of friends and families. Visitors can walk through an original cubicle where passports were checked and relive the border clearance procedure for themselves.

Tracing the division of Berlin

Hohenschönhausen Memorial

This former Stasi prison has been a memorial to the victims of communist dictatorship since 1994. Visitors are informed about the detention conditions and interrogation methods in communist East Germany. Former inmates lead the guided tours.

Tracing the division of Berlin

Teufelsberg Listening Station

After World War II, this area was used to deposit debris. Rubble from the war was collected to form the Teufelsberg, the highest elevation in West Berlin. During the Cold War, the US National Security Agency used the hill as a listening station. From here, military radio signals from the Warsaw Pact countries could be intercepted, monitored and jammed.

Tracing the division of Berlin

Glienicke Bridge

You might imagine that the exchange of captured spies only took place on the silver screen, but this bridge between Berlin and Potsdam was actually the scene of three such operations. Steven Spielberg used this historic place as a setting in his feature film "Bridge of Spies."

Tracing the division of Berlin

German Spy Museum

This interactive museum right near Potsdamer Platz takes visitors into the world of espionage. Special emphasis is placed on activities in Berlin during the Cold War. Among the more than 300 exhibits is an East German Trabant car with infrared cameras hidden in its doors.

Tracing the division of Berlin

Berlin Wall Trail

The Berlin Wall Trail follows the path of the former division of the city and covers some 160 kilometers. The Japanese donated some 10,000 cherry trees "to bring peace in the hearts of the people." They were planted in different sections of the former Wall. This avenue is right by Bösebrücke, the first crossing to open on the day the Wall came down.

Author: Philipp Falkenstein (ms)

However, when Hoffmann heard that the West German director had not arrived with a screenplay since there was none, the minister was less euphoric: "Of course, a script equals control," said Wenders, adding that with no script "one turns out of control."

When the minister then asked what the film was about and was told two angels, his jaw dropped. "Guardian angels? Are they invisible?" Hoffmann asked.

"You saw it right there rattling in his brain," Wenders remembered. "They're invisible? They can go through walls? They can go through the Wall as well?"

"Yeah, that's where I'm going to shoot!" answered the director before the conversation ended.

But all was not lost, and a few scenes were secretly filmed in East Berlin by a friend before the film rolls were smuggled across the border.

"Wings of Desire" is not only worth watching again for its technical mastery, the weightless camera, the beautiful images and the surprising story of two angels in divided Berlin. It remains a must-see because it so vividly captures the German capital as it once was.